'Big Bang Theory' On Hold While Cast Negotiates Contracts

by Denny Directo 2:44 PM PDT, July 30, 2014

The Big Bang Theory contract standoff continues and has forced production of the new season to be postponed.

The cast of the CBS comedy was expected to start table reads today but Jim Parsons, Johnny Galecki, Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting, Simon Helberg and Kunal Nayyar have yet to reach a new agreement with Warner Bros. Television.

The cast is said to be seeking big salary increases as the show enters it's eight season. According to the reports, Emmy winner Parsons, Galecki and Cuoco are asking for $1 million per episode with a cut of the show's back end (they currently earn $325,000 per episode.)

It seems as though the cast may have the upper-hand here in negotiations as Big Bang has been TV's #1 comedy for the past three seasons. In its last season alone, the the popular series earned 20 million viewers per week and has already been renewed through the 2016-2017 season.